Fire Pits And Blue Skies
by CheshireEffect
Summary: Matt recounts his first meeting with Mello and the events leading to their relationship. Will mostly cover the Wammy Era, along with events after Mello's departure and their reunion, along with an Intro and Outro from Matt.
1. Intro

**Another story! **

**I do not own DN or anything.**

* * *

**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**Intro**

* * *

**~Matt~**

When my cigarette reached its end I flicked it over the second story railing and toward the little wall-enclosed garden in the middle of the rundown courtyard.

Hopefully the plants didn't catch fire but then I couldn't really bring myself to care about that. The plants were dead and I honestly didn't see anything wrong with a giant fire pit in the middle of the apartment complex.

It was enclosed after all. Plus I could make Mello some s'mores. Did he even like graham cracker?

Leaning against the railing I looked up at the blue sky and just stared. Have you ever wondered why the sky was so blue? Of course some nerd would say it was because molecules in the air scattered blue light from the sun more than they scattered red light but I'm not thinking about science.

I'm actually not even thinking about the sky. I'm thinking about the color of the sky. Why? Well because Mello's eyes are the same color.

That was what first drew me to Mello; his eyes.

* * *

**Short, but I will have more up in a bit. Promise. This is just the intro.**

**I'm well aware of how lame all of this seems so far but please bear with me on this. It get's better.**


	2. Room Mate

**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**Room Mate**

* * *

**~Matt~**

"Matt, this is Mello your new roommate. Make sure to show him around for the first couple days. I want him comfortable." Roger told me and I nodded. Glancing over at the blonde boy who had yet to look at me I left the office and turned on my GameBoy.

Our little tour of Wammy House was silent, only punctuated by my short narrations when we reached a room of interest. My room-mate had yet to speak and that bugged me. Either he was being an ass or he was mute. I had a feeling it was the former and if so I honestly couldn't care if he was pissy or not. As long as he didn't mess with me or my games I was fine.

When we reached 'our' room I went straight to my bed and plopped down. Mello stayed in the doorway to give the room a once over before setting his bag down on the other bed with strange expression.

Hey, it wasn't like the room was that dirty. So what if I didn't pick up my clothes…or games…or laptop cords. You know what, I should probably clean up…

"You're room's a mess."

"No shit, Captain Obvious." I muttered before it registered that the blonde had actually spoken for the first time. Pausing my game I looked at him from behind the lenses of my goggles. He was average in height as far as fourteen year-old go but that was the only average thing about him. He was lean and dressed in a black long sleeved shirt and black jeans. His hair was shoulder length and blonde. It wasn't dirty blonde either but a golden blonde that was cut in a neat bob. It reminded me of Willy Wonka. The Johnny Depp one though.

His most shocking feature was his eyes. They were a pure blue—the color of the sky in spring—and held as much emotion as they kept hidden. It was strange but they reminded me of my little brother's eyes. They were green like mine but they held so much emotion that you could never really know what he was feeling.

Looking away from the blonde before he realized I was staring at him I turned off my game and bundled under my covers.

* * *

**~Mello~**

The redhead was hidden under his blankets and everything was quiet. Usually I'd revel in the silence but it was strange having another human being cowering under a blanket across the room from me.

Checking him off as special I finished putting my stuff away. I made sure to hide my chocolate in a place he couldn't find it.

Then I sat on my bed and glared at the mound of blankets in the other bed until I got a reaction. I knew he'd come out eventually. No one could stay like that all day; I've tried.

Taking a book from my bag I started to read. I couldn't have Red thinking that I was watching him when he actually emerged.

…

About three hours later (the little shit had probably fallen asleep) the blankets rustled and emitted a red-eyed redhead. His goggles had slipped in his sleep most likely and were hanging around his nose. Peeking at him through my fringe I watched as he yawned and fixed his goggle before plopping back on his bed with his handheld game in his grasp.

I decided right then and there that my room-mate—Matt—was a lazy fuck. Marking my page I set the book down on the nightstand and got up. Matt jumped as my finger jabbed into his side and he yelped. Rolling my eyes I crossed my arms and looked down at him.

"You're boring." I told him and he grumbled something under his breath before turning back to his game. I narrowed my eyes at him and snatched the game from his hands. His eyes widened as it sailed though the air to land with a thump on my bed. The red-head tried to get around me and back to his game but I shifted so that I stayed in front of him every time he moved.

"You. Are. Boring." I repeated, enunciating each word like he was an idiot. He was.

"And you're a prick, give me my game." He retorted and dived around me to grab the game. Sneaky bastard.

"Well at least I'm not a dimwitted, lazy bastard." There was a long pause, then:

"Follow me." He told me and saved the game before tucking it in his pocket.

Matt stood up and beckoned toward me before leading the way out the room. We walked the halls in the general direction of Roger's office before Matt stopped in front of a piece of paper stapled to the wall.

"This is the Rankings List." Matt told me, indicating the piece of paper. "Every kid in the orphanage is on this list. We all get numbers depending one who's the smartest, who's the most suitable to succeed L."

I looked over the list, immediately going to the top of the list to see who was in the lead. In first place was a boy (or girl) named Near, and right below him was…..Matt?

* * *

**~Matt~**

"You're number two?" The blonde asked incredulously. And if I cared enough about the ranking I might've found the effort to be insulted by Mello's tone. The true was, however, that I couldn't give a rat's ass about the ranks. The only reason I was in second place was because the teachers threatened to take my in-class gaming privileges away if I didn't do the work. That didn't mean I tried though.

* * *

**~Mello~**

"I'm only number two because no one's scored higher than me yet and I have to do my work or my games are taken away." Matt said as he leaned against the wall. I read through the other names, not bothering to go past number ten (they were irrelevant), but my mind kept going back to Matt. If what he said was true then he didn't try. He could hold second place without trying so, what would happen if he actually put effort into his work?

I didn't dwell on it long though because I'd already made up my mind to succeed this Near person and get first place. Who cares if Matt's in second?

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**End of chapter one. **

**Review?**


	3. Stupid Redhead

**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**Stupid Redhead**

* * *

_Two months later._

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**~Mello~**

I woke up early and got ready for class like I do every day. My hair was strait and neat, my clothes looked great, my shoes were tied; I looked good.

…And Matt was still asleep. Looking over at the clock I gave a little growl as Matt curled into a tighter ball knowing subconsciously that he was about to get woken up and shying away from the idea. It would have been cute if he wasn't about to make me late for class. I had just recently clawed my way to third place and had plans to kick his ass out of second; he was NOT making me late! Placing my hands against his back I shoved him so that he fell off the bed and hit the floor with a thump.

The bundle of blankets groaned and a moment later Matt sat up, the blanket pooling around his waist. His hair was rumpled and sticking up in different directions and his shirt was falling off one of his shoulders. There was no way he was going to be ready in time.

"Mmmmm….wha' do ya' wan'?" Matt asked through a yawn and I glared at him.

"Get your lazy ass up, we're gonna be late for class." I told him and he slumped to the floor, cuddling the blanket to his chest.

"Five more minutes." He said, voice muffled by the fabric of the blanket.

"No! Get your lazy….." I paused. Why was I even trying to get him up? I wasn't in charge of him. "You know what? Never mind. I don't care if your stupid games get taken away." I told him before stomping out of the room.

Stupid redhead.

* * *

**~Matt~**

"Could he be any more annoying?" I mumbled to myself as I shuffled down the hallway leading to my second period class. Being as late as I was once I finally got up I decided to skip through first hour completely. Now I was up; bleary eyed with a DS shoved into the pocket of my striped hoodie.

I couldn't help notice the satisfied smirk on Mello's face when I sulked into the classroom, ignoring the teacher's demand to remove my hood. Muttering a quick "Go fuck yourself with a broom handle" at the poor instructor, I picked the first open seat available, slouched down in the chair and rested my head on my folded arms before promptly falling asleep.

Rules were that I had to go to class; it didn't mean I had to be awake for them.

There was a sharp wrap on my desk though and I sat up to lock eyes with a pale excuse for a human being.

"The teacher said she'd call Roger in if you don't wake up." Near informed me and although the pale boy was trying to help I couldn't help but be irritated that he woke me up for Roger. Roger of all people. Roger was just an old grouchy geezer that didn't even like kids but ran the orphanage because of his friendship with Wammy. He couldn't do crap.

"Let her call him." I mutter before promptly going back to sleep.

...

I really hate mornings. The stupid teacher really did end up calling Roger but it would be my luck that L decided to pick today of all days to visit. Whatever happened to the whole video chat thing that we had going on?

Sitting in Roger's office across for the emanciated looking sugarholic I couldn't help but be uncomfortable as black eyes seemed to monitor my every movement. Wammy had left with Roger somewhere to talk (probably about the old days when electricity didn't exist and everyone rode horses) leaving me alone with our "idol". I hardly viewed L as an idol though. He was someone that all the other kids competed to be and quite frankly it was sick. Instead of letting the kids be kids and learn at their own pace we were herded into competing. And for what? So we could sit in a room solving cases while an old man acted as our butler? I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong I have respect for Wammy. He's a genius and someone that I actually enjoyed the company. It was L that changed everything as far as I'm concerned and it was also L who was irritating the hell out of me with his vacant stare and twitchy fingers.

"You seem umcomfortable." L stated and I resisted the urge to mutter "No shit". It was best to just ignore him. So I did, and instead of replying I got up, went over to Roger's desk, picked the lock, and retreived my game before returning to my seat.

L continued to watch me silently but I was used to Mello doing that when he was mad at me and, like with my temperamental room-mate, I ignored him. Wammy and Roger returned shortly and, to my surprise, the former beckoned me out of the room.

Following Wammy to the second floor of the building I felt worry knot up in my stomach. He didn't say anything, merely walked and so I returned to my game going through the levels as we walked.

"I hear you enjoy computers." He finally said and I stopped short. I had never told anyone...

"What?" I asked and my voice came out as a surprised squeak. A smile lit his face as he stopped in front of a door and unlocked it with a key he'd pulled from his breast pocket.

"You like computers, young master Matt." He said and I nodded before my eyes widened as he opened the door to the room.

Holy Zelda, I was in heaven.

* * *

**~Mello~**

My foot tapped on the floor of the cafe as I waited impatiently for Matt to show up. He was taking forever. Of course...he had gotten called out of the room by Roger so maybe he was in detention or whatever punishment the old man felt suitable. I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face at the thought. It was like the orphanage made special privileges for Matt because he was second. Of course he was too busy being a lazy prick to notice but I sure did.

So when Matt came rushing into the cafe with a grin on his face and twitchy fingers I knew something was up. Matt only got that way when he worked on computers. How did I know this? Well, because he needed a look-out when he broke into the computer lab at night to fuck with the orphanage's desktops. They were all state-of-the-art technology wise but that didn't stop Matt from feeling it was his right to make improvements on them. So I was stuck as look-out because, despite how much Matt pissed me off, he was the only friend I had.

(You ever tell him I said that and I'll kill you!) I use the term friend very loosely.

So here Matt was with his stupid grin and twitchy fingers and I knew straight away that he hadn't gotten punished at all.

Frikkin' figures.

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**End of chapter two**

**Review?**


	4. Data Simulation

**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**Data Simulation**

* * *

**~Mello~**

I didn't find out what had Matt so happy until a week later. Matt was being called out of classes almost daily and so I followed him.

When Roger came to take him away during first hour I waited a couple minutes before raising my hand.

"What is it Mello?" The instructor asked and I felt a hint of irritation. I hid that well though and assumed an urgent expression.

"I need to pee." I stated and (God I wanted to slap myself!) from the teacher's almost comical expression I could tell how childish that sounded. I kept a straight face though and wiggled my fingers a little to show just how important my need to pee was.

"Go ahead." The teacher said and I hopped up from my chair before making my way quickly out of the room.

Once out of the classroom I dropped the look and scanned the hallway for any sign of Matt. There wasn't but I could hear receding steps so I followed in hopes of finding out where my room-mate was disappearing to.

To my surprise (and pleasure) Matt actually did go to the office but I had little time to celebrate as he soon re-emerged with...Wammy in tow? What was Wammy doing here? Was L here as well?

I continued to follow, now if only to get to the bottom of why Wammy was going anywhere with Matt. Waiting until the were out of sight so they wouldn't see me I followed them to the second story. However when I rounded a corner after them I had to duck back when Wammy looked toward where I was.

"Do not hide young Master Mello, you are not in trouble." I heard and took deep breath before rounding the corner to face him.

"I'm not hiding." I lied and he smiled.

"Yes, of course." He said and started toward me. I craned my head around him to look at the door he had come from.

"Where's Matt?" I asked as I followed him. He looked down at me and straightened his glasses.

"Training. Master L has decided to train each of his successors according to their strengths. That means you, Matt and Master Near will each be taken out of your classes in the morning."

"Then why haven't you started training me yet?" I questioned. I didn't consider the fact that Near hadn't started his "training" either given the fact that he was still attending morning lessons. I didn't really care about Near.

"The thing about Matt is that he is easy to understand. He enjoys games and excels with computers which made him easy to place for assessment. You on the other hand haven't been here long enough for L to get an understanding of your specific skill set. You are complicated. Near will be working with L on his ability to compartmentalize in tense situations as well as solve complex puzzles. I will however assess you and Matt." Wammy told me and I frowned as I thought about what he was saying.

"Why hasn't Near been pulled out of classes then?" I asked as Wammy paused outside of a door and removed a key from his pocket.

"That is because L is busy setting up the new schedules for you three. Your classes will have to be picked and arranged according to your training. Once that is taken care of he will start working with Near.

Opening the door he beckoned me in as he turned on the light. Inside was another room with a large one-way window, a computer situated on a desk with cords running the floor, and... a gun? Wammy chuckled when he caught me staring at it.

"It's not real, at least not in the sense of being dangerous. It's for a simulator." He gestured to the room. "As you progress the scenarios that you are placed in become more complex and dangerous. The data taken at the completion of each level is recorded here." He tapped the laptop before logging in and setting up a program. As the application started to run what I thought had been a two-way window lit up with script.

Reading it over quickly I looked back at the old man with a raised eyebrow. "SRS-2?"

He nodded and gestured toward the script as a menu flashed on the screen. "Shooting Reality Simulator; it's second generation. The first was designed for military and use in the police force. The SRS-2 was something that I collaborated on to enhance performance. Instead of simple target practice, as the SRS-1 was, this Simulator is designed to test your ability to process information, eliminate enemies, and solve cases. Go in that room there and I'll set up an assessment for you." Wammy told me and I did as directed after taking the gun from the table.

When I stepped in the room the screen blinked before pulling up my credentials There was a picture of me with my alias below it as well as a graph for recording my progress.

Wammy set up my first assessment and, as a summary of the scenario I was supposed to complete flashed on the screen, I readied my gun.

* * *

**~Matt~**

My fingers flew over the keyboard as I worked with the computer to stream a line of code. Various data windows opened as I typed in commands for the computer. The ones that I was running were fairly simple to comprehend being Python.

As I ran different commands for the computer such as:

my_int=38

my_add=54

my_sum=92

The computer would take in the data and record it before sending back the messages I would need to continue.

It wasn't something hard for me to do but Wammy insisted that I run the basics before going onto hard sessions so that I knew exactly what I was supposed to be. Basically I was running through how to place variables before exchanging those values as the system ran through the commands. It was simple. The challenge was keeping up with the computer on the script. If I messed up I had to erase everything before starting over.

Reading through the responses the computer sent in a Data window at the right of the screen I continued to code the foundation of the program. It was a virus detector in all it's simplicity and I was supposed to fix the Python Code running through the program to get it running as smoothly as possible. After setting the variables for the computer to store I was supposed to white-space the script that was coded wrong. Essentially the whole thing was a mess that Wammy had set up for me to repair. Once done he'd test it out against a virus of his design on a computer of his choice. If the program did it's job the virus would be blocked and broken down before being wiped.

That is, if everything went correctly. If it didn't the computer was going to be wiped and I would have to recreate everything.

To make matters worse he was going to test it out on MY laptop/

Hopefully Mello's training was going better.

* * *

**Sorry for any mistakes in the code. I'm still learning how to use Python. It's actually pretty cool to learn if you don't mind a little brain work. If you're interested, check out Codecademy.**

**Also! Half of this chapter was written in Doc Manager because the Word program I have doesn't has spell-check. So PLEASE excuse any errors. **

**Review?**


	5. Friends Maybe

**I had a hard time thinking up where to go next for this chapter so a special thanks to my Mello for giving me a push in the right direction.**

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**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**Friends Maybe**

* * *

**~Matt~ **

I looked up from my work as the computer screen blacked out. After the months that I had been training I knew it was the timer that Wammy had enabled within the laptop to shut it down at the end of my training session. That must mean it was time for lunch.

I knew from past experience that there was no logging into the computer after he was shut out. I'd tried, figuring that I'd much rather work on hacking into Wammy House's system rather than go socialize and eat. It didn't work however as I was well and truly blocked out of the system. Letting out a sigh I grabbed my Game Boy from where it had been waiting on the desk beside me and made my way out of the room.

Pulling a key from my pocket I made sure the door was locked and continued down the hall to the general direction of our room. It had been months since the beginning of our training and Wammy had seen fit to give us all a copy of his key. Cool thing was, it was a master key. That meant we had access to all of Wammy. Near obviously wasn't impressed and usually kept his in a pocket of his pajamas.

Much to my surprise Mello wasn't too excited about his key either. Which only furthered my proof that my room-mate was a prude. Oh course he might also view all the off-limit things that we could do with the keys as beneath him. Rolling my eyes at the thought I stopped by the room for a quick nap before afternoon classes.

L had finally decided on our new schedules and...well I couldn't say they were an improvement. Seeing as our training had all but kicked our morning session out of existence we were to make up for the lost classes after normal classes would have ended. This "evening session" lasted through the afternoon and ended at the start of dinner, leaving us the rest of the night after dinner to spend as we pleased.

Except...there wasn't much to do.

There was only so much a genius hacker could do on the internet after all.

...

Tucking my game under my pillow I curled around the slightly overly-stuffed cushion and let my thoughts drift. It took a bit but soon I was in dreamland with a blonde haired princess and question mark boxes. I must have stayed there through all of lunch too as the next time I opened my eyes it was to see Mello. I let out a groan and turned toward the wall. It was much nicer to look at.

Things in the room remained quiet besides the snap of Mello's chocolate. I don't even know how he still managed to get chocolate. It wasn't like Roger would have gotten it out of the kindness of his heart and I doubt Mello ordered it without permission. That was something I would have done and, like I said, Mello's a prude.

Oh course he wasn't all that bad given all the times he'd been my weekly look-out when I went to tinker with the computers.

"Matt?" Mello asked and I turned over to look at him.

"What?"

"What does Wammy teach you?" Mello asked after a short pause, as if he were picking which question he wanted to ask. It took me a long moment to actually answer. It was a strange question after all since we had never talked about our training with each other before. Of course, better late than never, right?

"He teaches me how to hack." I said shortly. I knew I was acting kind of ill-tempered but I was tired and now, having skipped lunch, I was hungry. Mello scrunched his nose at my words and I couldn't help but think it was cute. (Remind me to slap myself for that thought later.)

It was quiet for another long moment and then: "You should eat something."

I felt a an awkward frown/smile spread across my face before it was interrupted by a yawn. "Can't; lunch is finished."

"Exactly. The staff cleans up during lunch so no one's in the kitchen, we have the keys Wammy gave us, and the afternoon session doesn't start until..." He looked at the clock. "Ten minutes from now."

I stared at Mello incredulously as he held out a hand to me. He was willing to sneak into the kitchen and abuse the responsibility of having master-keys in order to get me food?

Maybe he wasn't such a prude after all...

* * *

**~Mello~**

Ignoring the stupid look Matt was giving me I held out a hand to him up. Scrambling out of the bed in a mess of awkward gangly limbs he dived under his pillow for his game before using my arm to pull himself up.

"Thanks Mells!" He called as he left the room and my hand froze half-way to bringing chocolate to my mouth. Mells?

Shaking my head I followed Matt to the kitchens with a smile on my lips. Which stretched wider as Matt started to sing All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow. I couldn't say it didn't fit though. I had a feeling that all Matt really wanted out of life was to just be a normal kid, playing games and having fun with his friends. Except I'd never seen him with anyone but me so...was I his friend? We never really spoke to each other much less did anything that would qualify as friendly activities. Shrugging the thought off I listened to Matt lament Sheryl Crow as we made our way to the kitchens.

"All I wanna do is have some fun! I got a feeling I'm not the only one. All I wanna do is have some fun! Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard...Hey Mello, have you ever been to LA?" Matt asked and I shook my head.

"Nope." I answered around a piece of chocolate. We'd made it to the kitchen without being caught and now Matt was rummaging through the cabinets with a piece of spaghetti in his mouth.

"I'd like to go there one day. I've never seen the ocean so I think it'd be cool... I'll have to add it to my bucket list." He said around the noodle and I resisted the urge to pluck it out of his mouth. I just reasoned with myself that it could be worse, it could of been a cigarette. I shuddered at the thought. I fucking hate the smell of tobacco so I was likely to kill him if he brought it around me. From what I could tell of Matt though he just liked nibbling on things; from pencils to tooth-picks to the strings on his hoodies, and now noodles. I had gotten used to it given the fact that he wasn't likely to quit it. It was like my habit of making my chocolate snap. I didn't need to but I liked the sound it made.

Matt sat down with a bowl of soup that he must have found in a can. He'd also managed to make a cup of tea that, from the smell of it, was mostly spice. Ignoring the soup for a moment he wrapped his hand around the mug and breathed in deeply before letting out a sigh.

"You know I hate winter but...given the fact that it allows me to have Chai tea I think I'll let it pass." Matt said as he picked around at his soup. He mostly just ate the chicken and vegetables from it while leaving the broth alone. "Alright, so you got to ask me what my training was so I'm sending the question back; what do you do all morning?"

"Wammy has me running through a shooting simulator." I said and Matt dropped his spoon into his soup with a wet clatter.

"Are you kidding me. I'm supposed to hack into Wammy's system and you get to play with a simulator?! No frikkin' fair!" He yelled and I shot him a look that made him hush down. We didn't need to get caught in the kitchens.

"I'm not playing." I whispered indignantly and he smirked.

"Sure, we'll see. Tonight, as a matter of fact."

"What do you mean?" I asked and he smiled.

...

I found out what he meant after the evening session ended. He had me take him to Simulator room and, unlike myself, he didn't seem all that fazed. Sitting down at the laptop he easily logged in and set up a session.

"I'm guessing I go in there." He gestured to the room and I nodded. This was a really bad idea. What if we got caught? Then Wammy would probably halt our training and I would never be L. My eyes widened at the thought. Holy shit. Matt was going to fuck everything up!

"Matt don't; we're gonna get in trouble!" I hissed but he just grinned as he picked up the gun.

"Mells, stay there and monitor the laptop, 'kay? If you let me go through one level, one that I get to pick mind you, then I'll...excuse you from look-out duty and buy you a case of Hamlet chocolate bars." He said and I raised an eyebrow.

"The milk chocolate kind?" I asked suspiciously and he nodded.

"No nuts, all milk chocolate, a whole case." He said and... I couldn't resist. I fucking loved Hamlet.

Setting up a level of his choosing, I looked over his creds and frowned. Who the hell names their kid Mail? I mean, seriously? No wonder he picked the name Matt. It'd be nice to have some normalcy after living with a name like_ Mail_.

Stupid names aside Matt did pretty good with the first level and practically begged me to run a session that was harder. So I gave him one that I'd just completed last week. He did pretty good with the shooting portion, not as good as me of course, and seemed to breeze through all the problem solving shit. The only thing he stumbled on wwas the actual puzzles that were involved. Which was strange given the fact that he worked so well with computer codes. I'm guessing that he was more used to using the information given in order to solve a puzzle rather than piecing it together using clues that weren't there. Matt was a logical person so anything o do with guess work or assumption must have stumped him.

He called it quits after the third round and pressed his fingers to his temples before massaging them lightly.

"You okay?" I asked once he emerged from the room and he nodded. Tugging his goggles down around his neck he rubbed his eyes and blinked. I held back a gasp. His eyes were so green! Not hazel of that dull green but an intense dark green.

He looked a me oddly before returning his goggles to their previous position over his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked and I scowled.

"I'm fine." I told him as he logged out of he computer after shutting down the simulator. Opening a new of chocolate that I had had stashed in my pocket I bit off a chunk as we walked back to our room.

I had to admit. Matt was fun to hang out with when he wasn't being a jerk due to exhaustion. (He was the one that chose games over sleep so he had no right to snap at anyone!) Despite his pissy attitude though I could see us being friends.

Maybe.

* * *

**Longest chapter yet? I plan on writing some pretty long chapters seeing as I've always done rather short updates. So my goal is 2000-3000 words on each of my updates, if not more. Also, sorry for the wait. I've been up for the last three days straight reading Choices and the We Sleep Forever series by ShinigamiMailJeevas. Then I found a box of Chai tea in my tea cabinet and that kind of kicked my brain into over-drive. **

**I plan on starting the next chapter as soon as I get back from my driving lessons. **

**Review?**


	6. That's L

**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**That's L**

* * *

**~Mello~**

Surprisingly we made it back to the room last night without incident. We didn't get caught and we didn't get our keys taken away. Which is extrememly lucky. Of course if we had, I'd have blamed Matt...because it's always Matt's fault.

I however, couldn't help the smile that came to my face when I looked over at Matt's bed to see a mop of red hair peeking out of a mound of blankets along with a hand that loosely held a Game-Boy that had long sing ran out of battery life. Turning back to the book in my lap, I snapped off a piece of chocolate. Today was Saturday meaning we were off from classes today. Hence the fact that I wasn't getting ready for class or forcing Matt into consciousness. Frowning down at the book in confusion over a problem thst had been stumping me for the last ten minutes I jumped at sudden knocking on the door.

A groan came from Matt and the red hair all but disappeared within the blankets. Sitting the book aside carefully I pulled open the door to see Near standing there with a finger winding in his hair.

"What do ya' want sheep?" I asked with a scowl and he looked over at the mound of blankets on Matt's bed before bringing his eyes back to me.

"You, Matt, and I are wanted in the office; it would seem Wammy has something to tell us." He told me and I sighed. Time to wake up Matt.

Closing the door in the sheep's face (I knew he'd wait) I grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked as hard as I could. With a heavy thud Matt was unfurled from his caccon of cotton and lying dazed on the floor.

"...What in the hell...WAS THAT FOR!" He shouted and I stiffled a laugh. He had slept in his goggles again and they had left rings around his eyes, making him resemble a raccoon. His hair was also sticking up in every direction imaginable as his impossibly green eye looked up in a mix of indignation, shock, and the fogginess of not being fully awake.

"Wammy wants us in Roger's office." I told him and he groaned.

"Shit, this early?" He said with an irritated sigh. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, so throw on some clean clothes."

"Yeah...sure, sure. Jus' gimme a minute." He dragged a hand over his face before getting up from his bundle of blankets and slinking into the bathroom. I have seriously never met someone so lazy in my life.

...

When we reached Roger's office there was already someone there. I'd never seen them before so I assumed they were a new orphan. If so I'd have to watch out because the guy had some serious creep factor. With messy black hair and black eyes he reminded me of a long haired cat that had had a fight with a hair dryer.

Not that I knew much about hair dryers. Why would I?

Choosing a seat across from him I waited for Near and Matt to sit down as Roger cleared his throat in a rather annoying manner.

"Matt," The ravenette said and Matt nodded to him.

"L, I would say it's nice to see you again but...it's not." Matt told him and my breath caught. That was L?

That's L?!

* * *

**~Matt~**

I looked over at Mello as Roger glared at me. L was smiling to himself at my comeback while Mello was seemingly going into shock over having L in the same room as him. And Near was just sitting there curling a strand of hair around his finger as we waited for Wammy.

"Jesus Mello, don't have a heart attack." I told him and Mello glared at me.

"That would be terrible, wouldn't it?" L said as he pressed his thumb to his lips and I rolled my eyes.

The door opened to admit Wammy and I felt relief wash through me. Finally, someone I liked!

"Good morning Matt, Near, Mello." Wammy said and nodded to each of us. Near merely blinked and Mello was too busy looking at L to acknowledge the older man much.

"Morning Wammy, why are we here?" I asked him and he chuckled.

"Always to the point I see." He said and L pulled his legs underneath himself.

"We asked you here because I have a question to address to the three of you. There are those who search for the meaning of life. Those who will spend countless hours, days, and years of their life in desperate search of it. But what is not often realized is that there is no exact meaning of life at all. Because each and every one of us has our own different "meaning" for existence. A reason to live. Something to fight for. A passion in our lives that goes unmatched with anything else. So the question here really is . . . What is your meaning of life? What would you fight for?"

I looked at L for a long moment after he posed the question but couldn't think of an answer. What did I live for? I certainly didn't live to be L, like so many other kids in the orphanage. I wasn't like Mello, who made ranking number one his ultimate goal in life.

"You don't have to tell me your answers." L continued. "I just wanted to give you something to think about in the future. The real reason I called you here this morning is because I've made a change of plans in your training schedules. It would seem that Matt enjoyed the shooting simulator as much as Mello did and so we've decided to switch up your training. Matt and Mello will both take lessons with the simulator, Matt and Near will both have technology training with Watari, and Mello and Near will attend sessions on problem solving with me. You will have separate lessons on separate days. "

"Wait, wait! You know about last night?" I asked and Mello paled. Jesus Mello could be such a...a drama queen. God, it's just L, he's certainly nothing special.

"Yes. I've also prepared to have training session with each of you individually in the evening. That will get rid of your evening classes." L told us and Mello's eyes lit up like it was Christmas, which has a double meaning since his birthday is December 13th meaning Christmas was probably a very giving holiday for him.

This was going to be great.

* * *

***sigh* This chapter doesn't even scrape near the 2000 word mark that I set. And I fucking hate it. I mean this chapter seems so forced! I am going to post it though and I will probably try and re-edit the whole thing before I post the next one. Sorry about this. **

**Now I have a question: **

**What is your answer to L's question? What is your meaning of life? What would you fight for?**


	7. Who'll Care

**Fire Pits And Blue Skies**

**Who'll Care**

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

* * *

**~Mello~ **

"How do you know him?" I asked Matt as I was getting ready for my lesson with L. He didn't even look up from his game but I knew that he knew who I was talking about.

"Know who?" He asked and I glared at him as I checked my reflection. I was the spitting image of my mother besides my eyes. My eyes were the same as my fathers, even the glaring bit.

"Don't play stupid." I told him and he sighed. Whether that was because he'd miss a jump in his Super Mario game or because of me forcing him to answer I don't know.

"I met with L right before my training started but I've know him since my sixth birthday." He said and I waited for him to continue. He didn't though and seemed rather content with the silence that followed. I however wanted answers and I was going to bug the shit out of him until I got them.

"How did you meet though?" I asked as soon as his character died. He let out an irritated puff of air that I couldn't help smirk at before pushing up his goggles into his hair and turning to look at me.

"If you must know I met L through Wammy. ...When I was five my mother took my little brother and abandoned me with my father. Daddy was a drunk who couldn't hold a job to save his life and had made it into a habit to beat on my brother and I. I hated her for leaving me with him but mostly I was confused. I couldn't understand why she took Max and left me... After a couple months I gave up on waiting for her to realize her mistake and come back for me. All my focus went into hiding my bruises at school and keeping my father from killing me in one of his drunken rages." He paused for a moment and I could tell he was trying to keep his indifferent composure. But pain was sparking in his eyes and I had to wonder how well he'd gotten at burying his past to keep from crying. He was only eleven for Christ sake!

"Then one day my dad didn't come home from the bar." He continued cutting of my indignant musing. "I got along without him just fine. I would eat at school and mom had taught me to use the washer and dryer so getting by wasn't that hard...until the rent on the apartment had to be paid. If my dad was good for one thing it was gambling and bringing home just enough money to pay for us staying there. The apartment manager realized that she had a five year old living by themselves in the apartment and called the cops. They took me the station and asked me a bunch of questions about where my parents might be in that weird way grown-ups talk to try and keep little kids calm. Then Wammy walked into the station and saw me. He asked the cops about me and listened to what they had to say before coming to talk to me himself. He didn't talk to me like a child which made me happy. A week later he had custody of me. He renamed me Matt and brought me me here. I met L a couple months later on my birthday; he brought me a Game Boy."

"Then why do you hate him?" I asked. I didn't understand. From what Matt was telling me L had never done anything wrong to him...so then what was up with the hostility that he always directed toward the ravenette?

"I didn't at first. I actually liked him and like everyone else here I wanted to be the best for him. Well everyone except Beyond, but he's a different matter. Beyond knew that L was just using us to find the perfect heir and...then A died. A was number two and I was holding a steady place at number one. I liked A and felt really bad about his death and was expecting L to try and cheer me up or at least try and convince me that it wasn't my fault but at the funeral he just patted my head. He told me that I couldn't end up like A, that I couldn't crack under the pressure, and that's when I realized that Beyond was right."

I thought over his words for a long moment before frowning and shaking my head. "But L isn't like that." I told him and Matt just shrugged.

"Believe what you want Mello." He said simply. This Beyond person may have shattered Matt's image of L but I certainly wasn't going to let Matt do the same to me. L was a good person or he wouldn't have brought me here. So I couldn't just accept Matt's words because...that'd be like betraying L's trust in me!

"Well I don't believe you." I told him and glared as he ignored me to go back to his game. "You're just mad that I like him more than I like you!" I yelled just to spite him and he paused the game. He actually paused his game!

"Listen,you can believe whatever you want about your little crush Mello. I answered your questions and now I would like to play my game in peace. You can go kiss the ground he walks on during your lesson but I would like you to leave me alone." He spat the words at me and I left like I had been slapped in the face.

"I don't have a crush on L." I snapped at him but he must have noticed the blush on my face because he rolled his eyes. "I don't! That's disgusting. Boys don't like other boys; it's against the bible!" I yelled and Matt's mouth dropped open.

"Really? I mean... seriously?" He asked incredulously but I only turned away. I didn't miss the look in his eyes though as I left the room for my lessons.

...

I was still thinking that about that look during my fighting lesson with L. I dodged his hits like I usually did and retaliated with a couple of kicks or punches of my own but I knew he could tell I wasn't really focusing on what he was teaching me.

Shaking thoughts of Matt from my head (because really L deserved all my attention) I aimed a kick toward my idol's side. He caught it easily though and held it still.

"What is the matter Mello? you don't seem as devoted to our lessons as you normally are." He commented as he let go of my leg. I regained my balance and hurriedly put my hair in a pony-tail so that the sweat soaked strands wouldn't stick to my skin.

"Nothing, just Matt being stupid." I said and L's eyes softened as a smile lit his face. I couldn't help the spark of envy that went through me. Why did L like Matt so much when Matt hated him? It made no sense!

"Matt's strong spirited and stubborn." L said in answer to my unspoken question and I scoffed.

"You sound like you're describing a horse." I pointed out and his smile widened.

"That was certainly not my intention. I know he may not like me much but I admire his determination toward what he feels is right. Not many have that quality. Now what did he say to upset you?" He asked and I flushed indignantly.

"I'm not upset. He's just being stupid." I insisted and L looked at me for a long calculating moment.

"It would seem that young Matt is not the only stubborn one..." He muttered as he pressed his thumb against his lips. "I would like you to put some of that stubbornness into our lesson though." He told me and I nodded as I readied myself to continue our sparring.

It was only as we finished two hours later that I realized that Matt had look disappointed in me.

* * *

**~Matt~**

While Mello was at his sparring lesson with L I got out my laptop and set about hacking into Wammy's. I had gotten really close during my last try and so I was determined to get through this time. My biggest problem was the firewalls surrounding the data mainframe. That was where I needed to be and yet eleven walls of digital steel protection were keeping me out. Getting through the first two were a cinch but after that it got harder. On the third there was a gap, so I just needed to make sure I found it and got through. After that I needed pass-codes that Wammy had undoubtedly set up or an access key. I had neither.

Starting up a program to start running through a series of possible codes I worked on keeping my presence undetected as the application did it's job. Nearly two hours later and I still had two more firewalls to go. Week long gaming marathons had taught me patience though. (Ha, and Roger said games were useless!)

Looking up as Mello came in all hot and bothered I let out a curse as I missed a step in my whole evade-being-caught process. I worked on making up for my mistake as Mello went into the bathroom for a shower. By the time he came out looking beautiful as always I only needed one more access key and I was...Oh my Toadstool I DID IT!

I FUCKING GOT INTO WAMMY'S! I fucking pwn!

Wait! Did I just say Mello was beautiful? What in the fuck was wrong with my mind?

Pushing the thought to the side, I quickly made a copy of all the files to look over later before I transferred the replicas to my mp4's file section. Then I set up my own series of pass-codes so I would be able to get in again if I needed to. That done I looked over at Mello just in time to see him throw a book at my face. Dodging the hard-backed text of doom I set my laptop aside to safety and glared at him as best I could.

The goggles kind of made it ineffective though.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled. I wasn't really mad but that doesn't mean I was going to be a bitch and let him lob text-books at me whenever he liked.

He simply crossed his arms and glared at me. (His was much more effective than mine. He must practice or something.)

"I could ask you the same thing. I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes!" He fumed and I stared at him. Oh...I must have been really in my element to have not heard him. Mello's usually pretty loud and bitchy when he wants to be.

"Anyways," He said while flicking his hair over his shoulder. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted earlier...you're my friend..." He told me awlwardly and I grinned. Awww Mello is so cute when he's awkward.

...What the hell? Seriously Matt, he's a bible trumping heterosexual. And your best friend! Quit it!

"You have so many relationships in this life." I told him and his eyes widened at my serious tone. "Only one or two will last and you go through all the pain and strife. Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast." I started to hum and his eyes widened.

"Don't you dare!" He began but I cut him off.

"And they're gone so fast, yeah. So hold on the ones who really care!" Before I could go on any more he dived across the bed and slapped his hand over my mouth.

"If you start singing MmmBop I swear to God I will strangle you." He growled at me and I started laughing behind his hand. Then I licked it to get him to remove said hand. He did and I took no time in belting out the rest of the verse.

"In the end they'll be the only ones there and when you get old and start losing your hair tell me who will still care! Can you tell me who will still care? Oh caaarrreee!" I finished before he tackled me to the ground.

He was laughing though and so I knew that all was forgiven between us.

* * *

**Oh my Zelda! Over 2000 words! Wooo-hhoooooo! I did plan a little more for this chapter but I decided to leave myself some writing material for the next chapter.**

**NOTICE: My laptop is completely dead and will probably remain so until around the end of February. That means that I won't have much time to write. I will try to update semi-regularly though. **

**Review? PLEASE!**


	8. Sparring Emotions

**Fire Pits And Blue Skies**

**Sparring Emotions**

* * *

**~Matt~**

After Mello won our impromptu wrestling match (damn him, he's strong for his size) he went to his desk to study and I settled in for a long gaming session. I wouldn't be lying if I said I was trying to wait Mello out. Setting up my FC Twin, I put a cartridge in and splayed out on the floor as I grabbed a controller. Theme music and the scratching of Mello's pencil permeated the otherwise silent air of our room and I found it hard to stay awake. But I reminded myself of my soon to be realized plan of snooping through the Wammy files and stayed glued to my controller until Mello turned off the light and went to bed.

Step one of Operation File Snoopage complete.

I waited a couple more minutes to ensure that Mello was asleep before turning off the game. Then I scrambled under my bed for my laptop and booted it up as I got comfortable on my bed. Digging a USB from the drawer of my nightstand I synced my mp4 and imported the copies of the files onto my own C:/ drive.

Once that was done I unhooked the music device and put it back in the drawer with its cord. Then I started to mouse through the files.

...

**C:/Files/My Files/wammy/successors/Mello**

**Name: Mihael Kheel**

**Alias: Mello**

**Birth: 12/13/1995**

**Family: Father is native of Russian. Mother is Slovenian (This would possibly explain why his name is pronounce _Me-hi-el_.) Both parents are deceased with no living relatives that can be found.**

**...**

**Notes**

**March 2007**

**I've been working on a rather tedious case lately in Russia. A catholic priest here has been murdered and the town he lived in is convinced it was a hate crime. I normally wouldn't step in on cases like this, seeing as it is something that the local authorities can take care of, but something about the priest's personal life has piqued my interest. He has a son by the name of Mihael and from what Watari has told me he is a genius. I'll monitor the case from here and have Watari act as my ground agent. If there's hope of a successor in the boy I'd like to examine him from afar. People tend to change there attitudes in front of someone that can change their futures and I don't want Mihael deviating from his normal routines...**

**...**

So Mello's dad was a priest? That would explain his reaction to me bringing up his crush on L.

Skimming over the rest of the info on the case and L's creepy watch-from-afar thing (I swear he's a pedophile sometimes) I stopped when I got to the day that Mello arrived.

...

**May 2007**

**Watari brought Mello to the orphanage today. The blonde seemed to adapt to the new environment with ease. That's good, it means he can manage unknown territory well. I asked Roger to room him with Matt since Mello seems to have a healthy dose of ambition. He might be able to motivate Matt to try more in his studies. Now that I'm back at Wammy's I feel more comfortable in my surroundings but I would still like to keep my identity to Mello a secret. I didn't do the same for Matt and Near but I feel like they're too set in their ways to change for my sake. Mello seems to be somewhat of a people pleaser when he feels like he has something to gain. **

**-L **

**...**

**July 2007**

**Mello has risen to third place. I wasn't expecting him to do so as quickly as he did. I have a feeling he's aiming for first so it will be interesting to see if he can score higher than Near.**

**...**

**July 2007 (A week later)**

**Mello followed Watari today and began his training. From the data I got from the first session I can tell that Mello is remarkably good at conceptualization. His aim is exceptional as well, even for a beginner. I plan to see how he, Matt, and Near progress however before stepping into their training personally.**

**...**

**November 2007**

**Mello is still in third place. I am surprised. I got to meet him today in person and he seemed starstruck. I will be taking part in his training as well as having him train with both Near and Matt. He does still hold the best score for shooting accuracy on the SRS-2 and ****conceptualization. He allows his emotions to interfere with how he works though and that can be extremely dangerous when handling cases. If I can improve his ability to compartmentalize he would be a nearly perfect candidate for my succession. Even so he's second on my list of successors despite his position of third in rankings. **

******Mello's birthday is in a little over two weeks. I'll need to get him a gift.**

******-L**

******...**

That was the last entry made so I closed out Mello's file and found my own. There wasn't much that I didn't already know though. After a couple more minutes of skimming through the files for anything interesting I closed out of the folder and shut down the computer.

Burrowing into my blankets I decided to start looking for a birth day present for Mello in the morning.

* * *

**~Mello~**

Matt hasn't talked to me at all today. I feel like he's upset with me still. He seemed fine after our wrestling match. ...But he didn't talk to me after that either; he just played his game. He was even on it when I woke up this morning and looks like he hasn't slept a wink.

My mind went back to his look of disappointment yesterday and I groaned. Was it that? Was he still disappointed in me? I don't even know what I did! Letting out a sigh I watched as Matt went through the motions of the simulator. Wammy wasn't even here to monitor since L had decided that we should know what we were doing by now.

Matt's goggles were around his neck again and his green eyes were narrowed in concentration as he went through the information that the screen presented to him. He had the prettiest green eyes I'd ever seen and I always thought it was shame that he covered them with those stupid orange lenses.

Tapping the keyboard of the laptop to set up the next exercise for him I thought about what he'd told me yesterday. Despite what he thought, I didn't have a crush on L. I looked up to L and I admired him but I didn't like him like Matt thought I did. If there was anyone that I could see myself with it was...

"Hey Mello?" Matt called from the entrance to the simulator and I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Nothin', you were just zoning out. Do you want to take a break?" He asked and I shook my head.

"No...I was just thinking about something." I paused. I should just ask him. Then I wouldn't have to think about it anymore. "Matt, why did you look disappointed in me yesterday?" I blurted before he could go back to the sim. He looked confused for a moment before his eyes showed understanding.

"After you told me that liking guys was wrong and that God didn't approve of it? I don't know Mello, why do you think I would be upset?" He asked and I glared at him. Smart-ass.

"Well that's how I grew up. I'm not going to sugar coat my beliefs for you." I snapped and the disappointed look came back.

"I would believe that if they were you're beliefs." He said levelly and I glared even harder. Who was he to decide for me whether I believed something or not. He didn't know about me or my past. He didn't know anything!

"Don't pretend that you know what I believe. My father raised me to live along with what the Bible taught and one of the things that he taught me was that homosexuality was wrong. So I don't like guys and never will because it's not what God approves." I told him and he just shook his head.

"I get that that's what you were raised to believe but...the way you act begs to differ." He told me as he shut down the simulator. "Now come on, we have lunch and then we have a sparring lesson with L."

Matt lead the way out of the room and toward the cafe. The walk was quiet except for the sound of Matt's Game Boy so I was left to stew in my own thoughts.

What was so telling about the way I acted? It wasn't like I was coming onto guys at every turn. Sure I treated L special but wasn't I supposed to? He was my mentor and idol after all. Just because Matt was warped and treated L like crap that didn't mean I had to do the same. Keeping this firmly in mind as we ate lunch I tried to think of a way to sooth Matt's wounded feelings. By the end of the hour the only way I could think to do this was to explain the way my father had raised me to Matt so he'd understand where I was coming from. (Not that I liked to explain myself to anyone...and I swear to God if he said anything smart I would punch him in the face!) So as we made our way to our shared room for the five minutes before our lesson with L I turned to Matt and waited for his attention.

"I'm sorry for...what I said yesterday..." I managed to choke out and Matt smiled. t wasn't smug, just appreciative.

"Thank you Mello." He said and I could tell that he wanted to say more but thought differently of it. So he closed his mouth and looked back down at his game. Feeling relieved that I had made peace turned to leave for out sparring match.

"Sorry for being an ass Mells." I heard in a whisper from behind me and couldn't help but smile. As I made my way down the hall I could hear the tune of his game and the shuffle of his feet behind me and felt pleased that we were once again on good terms with each other.

...

"Matt, your movements are too stiff." L commented as I blocked a kick that was aimed at my side. Doing as L had done yesterday I grabbed the redhead's ankle and held it at waist height. He wobbled for a moment before pulling his leg out of my grasp and hopping to catch his balance.

"Keep doing that." The raven instructed my roommate and Matt sighed but did as he was told. L smiled and I figured out quickly what L was doing. As Matt continued to hop he started to balance on the balls of his feet instead of the flats. Once he was relaxed enough L signaled for us to start again. Sweeping a foot out toward Matt's legs I grabbed his wrist as he backed up. He surprised me though by turning into my my grasp as he hooked his right leg behind my ankles and pulled my feet from beneath me. Keeping my grip on his wrist firm I pulled him down with me, flipped us and pinned his arms to the ground.

"Hah!" I exclaimed with a grin as I sat back on Matt's hips. He tried to wiggle his way out of my hold but couldn't so he looked at me pleadingly. I had no doubt that his eyes resembled that of a puppy's beneath the goggles. Cute.

"You both remind me of two other boys, Avery and Beyond...A and BB." L said softly. Matt's face went from pleading to sad to mad in a heartbeat before I found myself flat on my ass as Matt jumped up. Turning to L as he brushed off his jeans he glared at the ravenette.

"Are you completely heartless?" He asked in a harsh voice before stomping past our mentor. I looked after him in confusion as I got up. What had just happened?

L's eyes became shadowed and for a second he looked sad before he cleared his throat.

"It would seem our lesson is 'd do best to calm your friend." He told me and I nodded before heading after Matt.

...

I caught Matt in the hall and yanked him around to face me.

"What the hell was that? You had no right to be mad at him!" I yelled and Matt's hands balled into fists.

"He had no right to bring them up!" He yelled back and a blonde head popped out of the door down the hall. It was only Linda though so I waved a hand to tell her to leave. When she was out of sight I turned to Matt with my hands on my hips.

"Why are you so mad though?" I asked, recalling what Matt had told me about A and BB. A had died and BB blamed L for creating Rankings, the system that ha caused the death of his friend. But why was Matt so upset about L's comments? It had only been an observation after all.

"Because he was right...A and BB were best friends, they were my friends. BB never trusted L so he didn't try as much as A did. A would get so stressed out over Rankings that he wouldn't eat or sleep for days. He ended up in the infirmary multiple times but he never changed. Then he'd always fall below me by a point or two. I never thought about stepping down and allowing him to score better just one. I was eager to please L just like everyone else, despite what BB had told me. Then one day A didn't show up. BB didn't either and they called classes off." He paused and swallowed before letting out a shaky breath to continue. "There was an announcement later that A had died but BB told me that Avery had killed himself...So what L said, to compare us to them was cruel. It's cruel and true."

Matt lapsed into silence, a silence that I honestly couldn't fill. I had nothing to say, I didn't know what to say. I was dumb-stuck, speechless, void of words as my mind scrambled to sort through what Matt had told me. Deciding that verbal communication wasn't best right now I pulled Matt into tight hug.

"That won't happen to us." I promised and he nodded.

* * *

**I finally feel like this chapter is done! I had to take half of this chapter's outline and add it to the next chapter. (Which I will be getting started on almost immediately.) **

**In the next chapter we get the genesis of a very famous book in the DN Fandom. See if you can guess which one I'm talking about.**

**Thank you so much for reading and leave a review! **

**-Chesh**


	9. Broken Truths

**Fire Pits and Blue Skies**

**Broken Truths**

* * *

**~Mello~**

"I don't understand." I finally admitted. I had spent most of the morning with L after Matt had told me more of Avery and Beyond's story. In all truth I was seeking answers to questions I hadn't fully formed in my own mind but...I needed to understand Matt. I needed to know not just the story, but the feelings behind it. I needed the truth, all of it, and so I'd sought out L.

Said ravenette regarded me with bleak, intelligent eyes and I fought the urge to fidget under his gaze. It was as if he was reading me, but looking at his blank features, I couldn't tell whether what he read was good or not.

"That's because you're blind, much like Matt is. He doesn't know the full story and what little he has told you is most likely less informing than you'd like." He said in his soft monotone. He needed no confirmation to know he was right and so I gave none.

"Stand." He ordered so suddenly that I found myself obeying immediately. "Walk to the middle of the room and close your eyes."

I did as told and listened as L moved about the room in swift, shuffling steps. They reminded somewhat of Matt's own, except his were less graceful.

"Now open you eyes and tell me what you see." I heard from a good distance to my right. When my lids lifted I was met with such darkness that I had a brief panicked thought that I might have gone blind. Then logic caught up and I looked around me, widening my eyes in a futile attempt to see _anything._

"I can't." I told him as I finally realized that no matter how much I looked I wouldn't see anything but indiscernible shadows.

"Then can you at least tell me what happened to Beyond after Avery's death?" He questioned and I opened my mouth to answer then shut it again in irritation. Matt had never told me what happened after Avery died. I knew of A's death as well as the reasons behind it, I knew that Beyond was no longer at Wammy's, but I didn't know what had happened to him.

"No... I don't know." I managed and my faced heated up at the realization that I didn't know much of anything.

"Again, neither does Matt. Both of you are alike in that aspect, fumbling in the dark for things you can't see. Although you are more curious than Matt, admittedly, who is more or less blinded by guilt-induced anger."

"Would you tell me?" I asked after a moment of deliberating thought. Light flooded the room suddenly and I snapped my eyes shut with a hiss. When I blinked them open again L was regarding me with a thoughtful expression.

"Of course. I would have told Matt a long time ago if he had only asked. But he'd hardly believe me anyways." He continued almost mournfully. His eyes got a faraway look and I knew that the story of what happened to Beyond was about to be told.

**...**

After lunch some of the boys came to the room and invited me to play a game of baseball. I glanced over at Matt, who had been sitting on his bed while waiting for my return, and wasn't at all surprised to see him roll himself into a blanket burrito at the mention of sports.

I could imagine the disgusted face that his comforter was hiding.

"I..we would love to come." I told them with a smile. "Matt loves baseball."

I ignored their skeptical faces as I shut the door, instead turning to Matt who had thrown the blanket to the ground in a rush to sit up. He looked half-way between shocked outrage and choking on his own saliva. Once his mind seemed to catch up with his body he leveled a glare at me.

"I don't even like baseball." He hissed and I it back a laugh.

"Oh, sorry I didn't realize." His eyes narrowed at the sarcasm. "You're still playing."

"But...I don't even...like baseball. Mello!" He called urgently as I left the room.

**...**

It was still in the middle of winter so the ground outside was covered in a fresh layer of snow. I tried to hide my smile as Matt stomped through it behind me, wrapped in a sleeveless fur vest that was way too large for him and muttering curses. The the other boys were all outside, with a couple of girls, and Near for some bizarre purpose, watching from under the leafless oak tree.

Matt was tossed a catcher's glove, which he clumsily caught, and I was pointed toward first base. It seemed we were on opposite teams. which i didn't mind in the least. I was always up for a bit of competitiveness and if I could get Matt out of his lazy, tech-crazed, gamer shell with a bit of basketball then I would do so gladly.

Not that I didn't like Matt as he was. In a friendly way, of course.

Matt took a position on first base with Jared and Odalis on second and third. The rest of his team (Henry, Luke, and Mason) spread to outfield and Miles took up position as pitcher. For my team Dominic was first up to bat with Colten, Adam, Cooper, Jensen, Oliver, and myself in line behind him.

"No grabbing the running or face-shots. If the ball hits the batter, they walk. No retries on batting if you swing." Miles announced and I could hear Matt's long-suffering sigh from where I stood a good twenty yards away.

Tossing the ball up to get a good grip, Miles launched it at Dominic who hit it first go. He made it to second base easily, despite the snow. Of course Matt was string at the manor forlornly as he ran right past him but...he wasn't my team mate so I didn't care. Otherwise I would have thrown my glove at his head.

When it came to Cooper's turn Luke caught his ball mid-air, earning our first out with Matt reaching up and letting the ball fall into his gloved hand almost lazily. (His other hand was tapping away at his Game-Boy.)

As we switched sides Matt handed me the glove and game, telling me to stow it in my pocket for safety. When he looked at my skin-tight jeans and sweater skeptically I tucked the game into my waistband and shooed him away. Miles, Odalis, Mason and Henry had all been up to bat before it was Matt's turn and I could see their slightly panicked looks as Matt shuffled to home plate and picked up the bat before giving it an experimental swing that caused the aluminum bat to fly out of his grip.

Yeah I wouldn't be too confident with him on my team either.

Grounding my left leg a little, I pulled my arm back and threw it as hard and fast toward him as I could. His eyes widened and he swung, missing the ball by a good two feet and then looking at it with a miffed expression as it rolled away. Dominic called the strike from his spot as umpire Miles groaned. Matt shot Miles a look before tossing the ball back to me. Catching it easily, I waited until he nodded to show that he was ready before throwing it. This time he hit the ball and it flew straight over the fence, scoring a home run and winning his team the game.

After Matt and the rest of his team that were on the bases made it back to home plate there was a stunned silence in which Matt scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before his whole team burst into cheers.

"Who knew the bean-bole had it in him." Colten commented, and I nodded.

"You forget that I'm from New York, ass-hole!" Matt yelled back with a grin and Cooper laughed.

"You weren't old enough when you left to know anything about baseball." He quipped as he picked up the bat.

"Nonsense, it's in my blood." Matt replied.

"That's crap. I'm Canadian and I assure you that I'm shit at hockey." Mason shouted in.

"And if I tried figure skating I'd break my neck." Odalis said, who was Russian by descent.

"So, who's going to hop the fence and get the ball?' Oliver piped up and everyone stopped smiling. Get caught hopping the fence and Roger would likely kill you and then ask questions later.

"I think Matt should get it." I said after a moment. "You did hit it over the fence, after all." I continued as Matt shot me a look.

"Fine." He huffed before stomping toward the fence. I waited for a moment before turning to help pick up the bases.

A moment later Matt yelled a curse and I turned to see Matt dangling by the cuff of his jeans from a spire on the top of the fence. For a moment I was too shocked to move and in that time Matt's jean leg ripped, sending him crashing to the snow packed earth. Matt let loose a scream that made my blood drop to the temperature of the frozen ice around me. Dropping the bases, I broke into a sprint as one of the boys (Miles, by the sound of it) shouted for someone to get Roger.

Hopping the fence with ease, I dropped down beside Matt in time to stop him from trying to get up off the cold ground. His right arm was bent at an unnatural angle (the left was underneath him) and I could see a glimpse of blood stained white that made my stomach clench.

"Oh God, Matt, just don't move." I choked out as I pulled off his goggles. "Don't fucking move."

He looked at me with eyes filled with pain and tears and I felt like punching myself. I don't know how long I watched Matt cry, his pained gasps fogging the air, before Roger, Wammy, and L arrived but by the time they did I was crying as well.

"What was he doing climbing the fence?" Roger barked as Wammy knelt to examine Matt's arm.

"I doubt that matters at the moment." L cut in. "Watari hand me your scarf. The snow is helpful at the moment but we'll need to immobilize his arm before we move him." Taking a hold of Wammy scarf, L ordered that the other two to help him get it around Matt's arm.

"Mello, hold Matt-kun down please." he told me and I did. When Roger and Watari moved Matt arm to place the splint he barely wimped but as L tied it he let loose another scream that made me gag.

Once the splint was secure L lifted Matt carefully in his arms before leading the way back to the orphanage. Crossing my arms to try and bring a bit of warmth into my body, I paused as my foot kicked something. I looked down and saw the worn base-ball sitting innocently in the snow and felt an violent urge to destroy it. Nevertheless I picked up the ball and glared t it, blaming it for Matt's injury as I walked behind L and the others.

**...**

Matt passed out when they set the bone. I didn't know whether to be relieved or break into tears when he suddenly stopped screaming...so I did both. Matt's arm forearm was shattered in one spot and in another the bone had snapped and punctured the skin. (That would explain the blood-white that I had seen.)

Roger and Watari stayed until Matt was all bandaged and clean before leaving L and I to sit a silent vigil. The white walls of the infirmary mixed with the smelled of bleach and latex gloves made my stomach churn but I stayed in the chair beside Matt, knees hugged to my chest.

After an couple of hours (I lost count after five) L left, returned with a laptop, looked at Matt with a sigh, and then departed again. It was a long time before I opened the laptop and began to type, but I knew Matt wouldn't be awakening any time soon.

**...**

**C:/Mihael Kheel/My File/Unsaved Document**

**The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases**

**When Beyond Birthday committed his third murder, he attempted an experiment. Namely, to see if it were possible for a human being to die of internal hemorrhaging without rupturing any organs. Specifically, he drugged his victim so they fell unconscious; tied them up, and proceeded to beat their left arm thoroughly, being careful not to break the skin. He was hoping to bring about enough hemorrhaging to cause death from loss of blood, but this attempt ended, sadly, in failure. Blood congested in the arm and it turned purplish red beneath the skin, but the victim did not die. They simply shook, convulsed, and remained alive. He had been convinced the blood loss incurred by this would be enough to kill someone, but apparently he had underestimated the matter. As far as Beyond Birthday was concerned, the actual method of murder rated fairly low on the amusement scale, and it was nevermore than an interesting experiment. It did not particularly matter to him whether it succeeded or not. Beyond Birthday simply shrugged, and took out a knife...No, no, no, no, no. Not this style, not this narrative voice—I'll never manage to keep up this arch tone all the way through.**

**...**

I sighed in frustration as I slammed the closed and tossed on the chair that L had vacated hours ago. The room was turning a pale grey with the winter dawn and my bones ached with stiffness that could only come from staying still for way too long a period of time. Getting up to stretch briefly I settled back in at Matt's bedside and rested my head against the bed to sooth the headache that I could feel beginning to form.

I didn't even notice when I fell asleep.

* * *

**Haha, I'm back! Footloose was so much fun to do but damn, performing in a musical is time consuming! Credit for BB:LA of course goes to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.**

**Oh and I saw a post on Tumblr last month (I think) about Mello's really name being Slovenian, not Russian and I had to smile so much because I made him part Slovenian in this. Finally, someone who shares my opinion!**

**Next chapter I'll try to squeezing in some Matt POV and fluff, 'kay?**

**Review equals love and inspiration! (Don't you love me? Or at least MattxMell?)**


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